(no subject)
Tonight was the best time I've had in months. The Soviettes reunited for two shows this week to support releasing an album of B-Sides and rarities. Anxiety stopped me from going to the Thursday night all ages show (dumb of me) but I went to night with my good friend and concert buddy Earl, and I was not disappointed.
Fucking awesome!
Openers consisted of new bands and side projects conceived since the disbanding of The Soviettes 4 years ago, most popular among the 2 person group Awesome Snakes (sort of a joke project: all songs relate either to snakes, being awesome, or the ultimate combination: how snakes are awesome). Awesome snakes literally finished their set with "I don't think we know anymore songs." Somebody in the crowd responded by belting out possibly their best song, and so, with with sheepish grins and a bit of confusion, Awesome Snakes had a quick conference to remember how the song went, and then played it to the greatest enthusiasm mustered by the entire crowd up to that point. It was the best finisher I've ever seen. It was Awesome Snakes last performance as well, and it couldn't have been better.
The Soviettes were nuts. I love them, so I'm biased. Neither Annie nor Sturgeon were totally on their vocals (and with 4 & 1/2 years apart, that's understandable), but the atmosphere was so infectious that you can't help but love it. With an audience full of hipsters, a mosh pit developed, and by the halfway point of their set, I couldn't contain myself anymore. With an apologetic look toward Earl, I handed him my Strongbow (which seems to be the unofficial drink of The Soviettes) and headed to the pit. Lost my favorite bandana, but it was totally worth it. When next I got back to Earl, he, encouraged by my escapades, handed me back my cider and went off to the pit himself. We'd met Lizzy the Axe of local roller derby fame just a half hour ago, and she was standing next to us, so I motioned a question of her to watch my drink and I headed back into the pit.
This is worth a paragraph break: Earl and I are huge derby fans. We've been sitting trackside at the starting line for at least the last 3 seasons of derby. By now we should have serious inroads to the local derby scene, but we're also huge wallflowers, so we haven't met more than a dozen derby folk. When a short brunette with a floral half sleeve tattoo walked by us, I turned to Earl and asked, "Was that Lizzy the Axe?" His reply was "I was about to ask you the same thing." When she was back near us I hear a snippet of her talking to someone else about roller girls, so I poked my head in and asked, "Excuse me, I heard her mention roller girls; is that Lizzy the Axe?" The man I questioned responded "Yes" and I thanked him and withdrew. Seconds later I heard "Who was asking that?" and Earl and I were both pulled into introductions and handshaking with Lizzy. What I did was at least halfway to creepy, and Lizzy was gracious. Half an hour later, I returned to my spot from the mosh pit and she actually handed me my abandoned cider. I was absolutely not expecting that. Lizzy is cool. Period.
So, the show was awesome. Mosh pits and hard cider don't mix, so I missed out on moshing to the last few songs, favoring that I would not lose my stomach contents, but it was still the best time I've had in ages. There was some woman near the side of the stage who seemed to have some problem with my taking camera phone pictures (not prohibited; my phone camera has no flash; and I couldn't tell what the hell the woman was saying, so she seemed just to be full of herself and booze) and kept pulling on my hemp choker. Ignore her, ignore the lost bandana, best night I've had in months, if not more. I know that live music is key to my happiness and well-being; the only thing sad about all this is that no concert in the known future will be able to match tonight's events to any degree. It was that good.
I nabbed a t-shirt and a free test printing of the concert poster, signed by Annie, who encouraged me to check out the lot of 20 or so remaining and pick my favorite. Kick ass.
Fucking awesome!
Openers consisted of new bands and side projects conceived since the disbanding of The Soviettes 4 years ago, most popular among the 2 person group Awesome Snakes (sort of a joke project: all songs relate either to snakes, being awesome, or the ultimate combination: how snakes are awesome). Awesome snakes literally finished their set with "I don't think we know anymore songs." Somebody in the crowd responded by belting out possibly their best song, and so, with with sheepish grins and a bit of confusion, Awesome Snakes had a quick conference to remember how the song went, and then played it to the greatest enthusiasm mustered by the entire crowd up to that point. It was the best finisher I've ever seen. It was Awesome Snakes last performance as well, and it couldn't have been better.
The Soviettes were nuts. I love them, so I'm biased. Neither Annie nor Sturgeon were totally on their vocals (and with 4 & 1/2 years apart, that's understandable), but the atmosphere was so infectious that you can't help but love it. With an audience full of hipsters, a mosh pit developed, and by the halfway point of their set, I couldn't contain myself anymore. With an apologetic look toward Earl, I handed him my Strongbow (which seems to be the unofficial drink of The Soviettes) and headed to the pit. Lost my favorite bandana, but it was totally worth it. When next I got back to Earl, he, encouraged by my escapades, handed me back my cider and went off to the pit himself. We'd met Lizzy the Axe of local roller derby fame just a half hour ago, and she was standing next to us, so I motioned a question of her to watch my drink and I headed back into the pit.
This is worth a paragraph break: Earl and I are huge derby fans. We've been sitting trackside at the starting line for at least the last 3 seasons of derby. By now we should have serious inroads to the local derby scene, but we're also huge wallflowers, so we haven't met more than a dozen derby folk. When a short brunette with a floral half sleeve tattoo walked by us, I turned to Earl and asked, "Was that Lizzy the Axe?" His reply was "I was about to ask you the same thing." When she was back near us I hear a snippet of her talking to someone else about roller girls, so I poked my head in and asked, "Excuse me, I heard her mention roller girls; is that Lizzy the Axe?" The man I questioned responded "Yes" and I thanked him and withdrew. Seconds later I heard "Who was asking that?" and Earl and I were both pulled into introductions and handshaking with Lizzy. What I did was at least halfway to creepy, and Lizzy was gracious. Half an hour later, I returned to my spot from the mosh pit and she actually handed me my abandoned cider. I was absolutely not expecting that. Lizzy is cool. Period.
So, the show was awesome. Mosh pits and hard cider don't mix, so I missed out on moshing to the last few songs, favoring that I would not lose my stomach contents, but it was still the best time I've had in ages. There was some woman near the side of the stage who seemed to have some problem with my taking camera phone pictures (not prohibited; my phone camera has no flash; and I couldn't tell what the hell the woman was saying, so she seemed just to be full of herself and booze) and kept pulling on my hemp choker. Ignore her, ignore the lost bandana, best night I've had in months, if not more. I know that live music is key to my happiness and well-being; the only thing sad about all this is that no concert in the known future will be able to match tonight's events to any degree. It was that good.
I nabbed a t-shirt and a free test printing of the concert poster, signed by Annie, who encouraged me to check out the lot of 20 or so remaining and pick my favorite. Kick ass.